2nd Sep 2025 09:00
(Alliance News) - London blue chips opened lower on Tuesday after gold prices reached a new record high, as investors turn to the safe haven metal amid potential US rate cuts and continued trade tensions.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 39.10 points, 0.4%, at 9,157.24. The FTSE 250 was down 173.01 points, 0.8%, at 21,460.68, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.030 of a point at 768.67.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 918.70, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.8% at 18,834.36, and the Cboe Small Companies was slightly lower at 17,249.13
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was marginally higher, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt faded 0.8%.
Keir Starmer will gather his Cabinet on Tuesday for its first meeting since a major shake-up of his Downing Street operation as he seeks to reset his Government after a challenging summer.
The UK prime minister will chair discussions with Chancellor Rachel Reeves, his deputy Angela Rayner and other senior figures after making a string of new appointments.
As part of Monday's reset, Reeves' former number two in the Treasury, Darren Jones, has become the prime minister's chief secretary and James Murray will replace him as Treasury chief secretary.
Former Treasury official Dan York Smith has been appointed Starmer's principal private secretary and ex-Bank of England deputy governor Baroness Minouche Shafik his chief economic adviser.
The shake-up is a sign that the prime minister is seeking to boost Number 10's economic firepower ahead of the budget this autumn amid dire warnings about the state of the public finances.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper denied that Chancellor Reeves had been "sidelined", insisting the situation was "quite the reverse".
She said: "I think the prime minister and the chancellor have always worked extremely closely together and continue to do so."
The pound was quoted down at USD1.3437 early on Tuesday in London, compared to USD1.3548 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood lower at USD1.1663, against USD1.1705. Against the yen, the dollar was trading up at JPY148.62 compared to JPY147.27.
Gold was quoted higher at USD3,481.53 an ounce against USD3,476.94. The yellow metal hit a record USD3,501.59 early on Tuesday morning, soaring past its previous record of USD3,500.10 in April.
The run in gold prices comes as investors weigh up a weakened US dollar and the prospect of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
"The rally reflects a softer dollar but also strong central-bank and institutional demand as investors rotate out of US Treasuries. The share of US Treasuries held by foreign central banks has been declining for over a decade, but that shift into gold accelerated this year amid US debt concerns, ratings downgrades, trade tensions and geopolitical risks. Central banks’ gold allocations even surpassed their US Treasury holdings this year," commented Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
"Meanwhile, Indian pension funds are seeking approval to invest in gold ETFs, hinting at strong demand despite record price. Silver also surged to its highest level since 2011. Both metals have further room to run. Yet, with the gold–silver ratio still above its long-term range of 60–80, silver may have greater upside potential."
Financial markets in the US were closed on Monday for Labor Day.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.27%, widening from 4.23%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.97%, stretching from 4.93%.
Tekmar fell 9.5% at London's market open.
The Newton Aycliffe, England-based technology and services provider for the offshore energy industry said it expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the year ending September 30 to be "broadly consistent" with the GBP1.7 million reported the year before.
Tekmar also expects to reach an adjusted Ebitda break-even position for the full year, representing a "material improvement" from the GBP700,000 Ebitda loss recorded for the first half of the year.
The company cited slower than anticipated conversions to orders during the second half to date, with some forecasted revenue moving into financial 2026. Tekmar continues to expected improved revenue and Ebitda generation in the second half "albeit at a lower level than previously anticipated".
Oxford Nanopore Technologies shed 4.0%.
The Oxford, England-based specialist in DNA and RNA sequencing technologies reported pretax loss of GBP69.0 million for the six months that ended June 30, narrowing from GBP71.4 million the year before.
Revenue rose 26% to GBP105.6 million from GBP84.1 million, "driven by increasing demand in both Research and Applied markets and further adoption of our high-output PromethION platform by customers across a wide range of applications," said Chief Executive Officer Gordon Sanghera.
Looking ahead, Oxford Nanpore maintained its guidance for 2025, forecasting revenue growth between 20% and 23% on a constant currency basis, a gross margin of around 59% and adjusted operating expense growth of 3% to 4%.
Over the medium-term, the firm expects to reach adjusted Ebitda breakeven in 2027 and be cash flow positive in 2028, driven by more than a 30% compound annual growth rate for revenue over the next three years, a gross margin above 62% in 2027 and operating expense growth of 3% to 8% to 2027.
At the other end, Tialis Essential IT jumped 32%.
The Edinburgh-based provider of IT support services won a follow-on framework contract valued at around GBP50 million with an unnamed long-standing customer. The expanded agreement will run over the next five years, under which Tialis will deliver lifecycle services, tech bars, end user support and field engineering.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo advanced 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was lost 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong shed 0.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.3%.
India will begin commercial semiconductor production by the end of 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday, touting his nation as a future "global hub" for chip innovation.
Modi, speaking in New Delhi at the launch of the annual Semicon India conference, said test chips from Micron and Tata were already being produced.
"Commercial chip production will begin this year," he said. "This reflects how rapidly India is advancing in the semiconductor sector."
India's semiconductor market has surged from USD38 billion in 2023, to USD45-50 billion in 2024-2025, with government targets of USD100–110 billion by 2030.
Brent oil was quoted up at USD68.70 a barrel early in London on Tuesday from USD68.63 late Monday.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar, US manufacturing PMI data and a eurozone inflation print.
By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Tekmar GroupOxford Nanopore TechnologiesTialis Essen It